Ovid Fasti 4 questions 1 Compare the treatments of the ‘Rape of Persephone’ in Fasti 4.393-629, Metamorphoses 5.250-678, and the Homeric Hymn to Demeter. Look also at Callimachus Aetia book 2, fr. 42 on the foundation of Sicilian Cities and Virgil Aeneid 3.548-718. 2 In what ways does Ovid exploit the aetiological dimension of his subject matter in the Fasti? 3 ‘The Fasti is a genuinely religious poem.’ Discuss. 4 ‘The formal tension between narrative continuity and discontinuity is the central inspiration behind the Fasti.’ Discuss. 5 How is the vates role exploited in the Fasti? 6 In what ways could the Fasti be described as a didactic poem? 7 Does the Fasti successfully negotiate a path between the Scylla of epic and the Charybdis of Love Elegy? 8 To what extent Ovid’s Fasti does conform to our expectations of an Augustan poem on the Roman calendar? Supplementary Bibliography Denis Feeney Caesar’s Calendar (Berkeley and Los Angeles, 2007), ch. 6. Alessandro Barchiesi The Poet and the Prince, chapters on ‘Syntagmatic Tensions’ and ‘Paradeigmatic Effects’.
1 Compare the treatments of the Rape of Persephone in Fasti
4.393-629, Metamorphoses 5.250-678, and the Homeric Hymn to
Demeter. Look also at Callimachus Aetia book 2, fr. 42 on the
foundation of Sicilian Cities and Virgil Aeneid 3.548-718.2 In what
ways does Ovid exploit the aetiological dimension of his subject
matter in the Fasti?3 The Fasti is a genuinely religious poem.
Discuss.4 The formal tension between narrative continuity and
discontinuity is the central inspiration behind the Fasti.
Discuss.
5 How is the vates role exploited in the Fasti?6 In what ways
could the Fasti be described as a didactic poem?
7 Does the Fasti successfully negotiate a path between the
Scylla of epic and the Charybdis of Love Elegy?
8 To what extent Ovids Fasti does conform to our expectations of
an Augustan poem on the Roman calendar?Supplementary Bibliography
Denis Feeney Caesars Calendar (Berkeley and Los Angeles, 2007), ch.
6.Alessandro Barchiesi The Poet and the Prince, chapters on
Syntagmatic Tensions and Paradeigmatic Effects.
